Evacuation of Korriban
__FORCETOC____NOEDITSECTION__ |next= |name=Evacuation of Korriban |image= |conflict= |date= |place= , |result= * , * The successfully departs for * The Tsistaralkut is eradicated * The successfully destroys much of the |side1= |side2= }} |side3= |side4= |commanders1= * * CTTE Karos† }} * Mishridz * Thira Mahasi * Kazarkasimus† * Kasidz† |commanders2= * Unidentified Glymphid Jedi Master }} * |commanders3= |commanders4= |forces1= * 8 , * 300 , Kohortwotok Wishastuwan * ~300 Tsistaralkut volunteers * 4,000 s |forces2= * 12 s, * 3 s, * ~20 s * 50 s |forces3= |forces4= |casual1= * All Massassi of the Kohortwotok Wishastuwan * Roughly half of the Tsistaralkut volunteer base |casual2= * 1 Sienar Battleship * ~1,000 Republic Army soldiers * A dozen Jedi Knights and Masters |casual3= |casual4= |civilian=}} , }} The Evacuation of Korriban was a battle of the that occurred on in late . The last major military engagement of the Sith genocide, the Evacuation was generally viewed as a for the joint - coalition force and a for the —though the battle resulted in the destruction of the and the eradication of the Tsistaralkut , it saw the successful departure of the for and the resultant founding of the in the decades that followed. History Prelude In the immediate aftermath of the , authorized a joint - counter-invasion of the aimed at the of the . During the last days of this , the gathered a vestigial remnant of the Sith people aboard an in the hopes of reestablishing the Sith Empire on , a forgotten Sith world far from the Republic's reach. Assembling on Republic-occupied , the fleet's s were restocked and refitted for the journey, hidden in the of the and protected by artillery emplacements manned by survivors of the Tsistaralkut . Battle Obscured from view by the Lower Wilds' tangle of canyons and ravines, the Sith exodus fleet would have likely remained hidden indefinitely if not for the arrival of a dozen s of the . These capital ships had been independently tasked by the overseeing Jedi high command with destroying the monuments, tombs, and structures in the Valley of the Dark Lords by means of a and had only stumbled upon the hidden Sith fleet by accident. Despite their attempts to move within attack range of the docked Sith dreadnaughts, these battleships were repulsed by extensive Tsistaralkut artillery fire and were forced to remain off-station, occupying their attention with the destruction of the tombs located in Valley's upper canyons. The Navy's relentless shelling of the upper Valley generated a dust storm that was driven downwind into the Lower Wilds by an easterly breeze, interfering with the s of the Sith artillery and permitting Republic ground forces to land under cover. A task force consisting of several dozen Jedi and two s was dispatched from aboard the Republic Navy battle group and landed out of range of the Tsistaralkut cannons near the pass from the upper Valley to the Lower Wilds. Charged with disabling the Sith artillery to clear a path for the Republic Navy, this group subsequently split into several smaller forces that fanned out across the Lower Wilds and assaulted each Sith cannon simultaneously. Their numbers were subsequently reinforced by additional Republic Army forces ferried to the Valley from occupied . Faced with no choice except to flee, Vitiate ordered the Sith exodus fleet to depart in its present condition. Karos, the commanding officer of the Tsistaralkut, knew the fleet had no hope of escape without the suppressive covering fire of the Sith artillery holding off the Republic Navy. With his followers scattered across the Lower Wilds in defense of the Valley's artillery emplacements, he realized that they would not have enough time to abandon their guns and embark aboard the last Sith dreadnaught before coming under attack by the Republic capital ships and bombers. Not wanting to jeopardize the safety of the young refugees aboard the dreadnaught, Karos chose to remain behind with the remnants of his paramilitary, providing covering fire until the fleet's successful jump to . Aftermath Though the battle officially ended with the successful departure of the exodus fleet for Dromund Kaas, fighting continued in the Lower Wilds for several hours. Karos, a noted , bought time for his surviving followers to escape into the red wastes of Korriban by invoking the ritual and summoning an army of s. Defended by his lieutenant Kazarkasimus and a volunteer bodyguard unit formed from the surviving of the Kohortwotok Wishastuwan, Karos and his undead horde engaged the Jedi and Republic ground forces in the Lower Wilds. The protracted skirmish continued until Karos alone remained. Engaging the overseeing Jedi Master in single combat to the death, Karos was finally cut down. No longer opposed by Sith artillery, the Sienar Battleships of the Republic Navy subsequently advanced into the Lower Wilds and shelled the various structures lining its canyon walls, bringing an end to the battle and the greater Sith genocide. Though considered a for the Republic, the evacuation was a long term for the Sith. The Sith exodus fleet eventually came to the lost colony world of Dromund Kaas after a lengthy perambulation across , establishing a under Vitiate that eventually returned to the greater galaxy a millennia and a half later during the . Though the escape had come at the cost of the Tsistaralkut's eradication, the Sith paramilitary were not forgotten among the survivors of the Sith genocide. In addition to a number of monuments dedicated to their self-sacrifice, the Tsistaralkut were immortalized in the pages of the Qoritottoi, a recounting the events of the Sith genocide. Behind the scenes The Evacuation of Korriban was created by the author as a means of explaining the differing depictions of the portrayed in canon while simultaneously concatenating several independent events of the late mentioned in Legends sources into a single dramatic encounter. Since its initial introduction to Legends canon in the comic series, the Valley of the Dark Lords has been the subject of numerous disparate depictions in Legends canon. Its earliest portrayal in series depicted the Valley as a single-level avenue saturated with ornate tombs of all sizes upon its flanks. However, in contrast to this depiction, the games portrayed the Valley as a multi-leveled canyon hosting ruins and structures in a general state of disrepair, with only the largest tombs still standing. This was further corroborated in MMO, in which the Valley was portrayed as having a sunken secondary level called the that was littered with ruined tombs and damaged statues. As no outright explanation for the Valley's sudden multi-leveled nature and slow decay into ruin over the span of 1,500 years has ever been offered in canon, some fans speculated that the eastern section of Valley sank to a lower level due to Republic in the aftermath of the . In seeming confirmation of such theories, stated several times that the laid waste to in the aftermath of the . Though the extent to which the Valley itself was subject to such desecration remains unclear, the Encyclopedia makes a passing reference to its destruction on page 291 in a caption describing one of the site's monoliths: "Statue damaged in aftermath of Great Hyperspace War." As further confirmation, the in-universe displays that seemingly depicts a fleet of s subjecting monuments in the Valley to orbital bombardment as Sith refugees flee the scene. Though not explicitly confirming that the Valley underwent the same extensive bombardment as other Sith sites, this evidence seems to imply that the Valley was at least partially damaged by the Republic occupation forces between and . For the purposes of dramatization, the author decided to run with the explanation that the Valley's state of ruin and decay into a multi-leveled canyon was the result of orbital bombardment. Though not stated to have occurred concurrently, the escape from Korriban as mentioned in , , and and the bombardment of the Valley of the Dark Lords were merged to provide an explanation for the fleet's hasty exit from Korriban and set a suitable stage for the Tsistaralkut's self-sacrificial last stand. Appearances * * * Sources * Notes and references